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Together for Nature: Communities Driving Action

An action packed event at Manchester's The Lowry, that brought 100 nature enthusiasts and community changemakers together, to drive action towards the protection of nature

Our natural world is in crisis. Our current systems are failing to prioritise it and halt its decline. We all have a part to play in the protection of nature, and in order to save and restore what we have left, we must act now.

With input from thousands of people across the UK, the People’s Plan for Nature is a vision for the future of nature, and the actions we must all take to protect and renew it. It calls for urgent, immediate action from governments, businesses, charities, organisations, farmers and communities to protect and fundamentally change how we value our ecosystems.

Hosted by the National Trust, WWF and the RSPB, ‘Together for Nature’ welcomed over 100 UK nature enthusiasts, including the People’s Assembly for Nature, recipients of the Save Our Wild Isles Community Fund, Nature Neighbourhood anchor organisations, charities, young people and local community groups – who are all protecting and renewing nature where they live, and helping to drive the vision of the People’s Plan. 

The event at The Lowry included inspiring speeches from keynote speakers Rhiane Fatinikun, founder of Black Girls Hike; Charlie Beattie, one of the youngest participants of the People’s Assembly for Nature; and the incredible team at Manchester Urban Diggers.

Rhiane Fatinikun, founder of Black Girls Hike - keynote speaker at the Together for Nature event at The Lowry in Manchester
Manchester Urban Diggers keynote speech as part of the Together for Nature event at The Lowry in Manchester
Kat Machin introduces the Together for Nature event at The Lowry in Manchester
Chris Write guides the FutureEverything innovation lab workshop with participants from the the Together for Nature event at The Lowry in Manchester
Chris Write guides the FutureEverything innovation lab workshop with participants from the the Together for Nature event at The Lowry in Manchester

The People’s Plan for Nature lays out a range of calls to action to address the threat to the nature ecosystem across the British Isles. But how do we take what reads well on the page and manifest it into our daily lives?

As part of ‘Together for Nature’, FutureEverything delivered a four hour intensive, quick-fire “Innovation Lab” style workshop, designed to convert the calls to action that are within the People’s Plan into tangible action plans that can be taken forward and delivered in communities across the UK.

Participants explored key thematic areas addressed in the People’s Plan:

Local Access to Nature
The People’s Plan calls for cooperation across society to create a network of local biodiverse, health-focused green spaces owned and run by the people, for the people.

Protecting Nature
The People’s Plan calls for communities to support the protection of nature local to them, while ensuring the needs of people are met.

Rivers & Seas
The People’s Plan calls for communities to work together to be a powerful voice for our rivers and seas.

A Fair Food System
The People’s Plan calls for individuals and communities to support the shift to a more sustainable, fair food system, as both citizens and consumers.

The workshop offered a space for participants to connect, collaborate, share experiences and ideas, while working together to unpick the challenges and obstacles that are preventing immediate action to uncover the solutions. The result: 12 new action plans and commitments from attendees that will drive the People’s Plan at a community level and help to influence broader systems change.  

What can you do to help nature where you live? Click HERE to access the People’s Plan for Nature.

Want to learn more about our FutureEverything Innovation Labs? Click HERE for more information. 

Photo credits: Ben Thomas